France – October 2021

Over the month of October, there have been no trips with Fufu, our motorhome, who has spent the whole month parked-up forlornly on our driveway whilst we have been off galivanting abroad.

Due to the Covid 19 restrictions, it has been two years since were last able to visit our house near Montpon-Ménestérol, in the Dordogne.  So with some concern and trepidation, we planned a trip to see how the property had faired since we were last there in October 2019, when we had flown there just for a week.  This was to shut the house up for the winter, little knowing at the time that it would be 23 months of house-furlough. 

On Saturday 2^nd October, our journey south to the ferry terminal at Portsmouth was a clear run, albeit in poor weather.  The Brittany Ferries check-in arrangements had been changed, due to covid, so we were required to arrive 90 minutes prior to departure (instead of the pre-covid time of 45 mins).   Expecting traffic hold-ups along the way, we had about an hour in hand on this and had to wait for the check-in to open. 

After boarding the Mont St Michel, we set off in poor visibility then an increasingly rough sea:

It was clear that there would not be many passengers on this crossing with only about 30 vehicles and no freight on board.  The Channel crossing was a rough ride, but we have experienced worse.  We passed some of the crossing in the bar-lounge joining in with the quiz, but despite the low number of participants, we performed dismally. We were then entertained by two singers, who struggled due to the sparce audiance, despite not lacking in talent.

Arriving in darkness, we had anticipated some delay at the French border control while passports and covid documentation were scrutinised, but no, it was easy-peasy and after scanning our phones for the covid certificates and stamping our passports (a new experience), we were off to the hotel.

As usual in France, driving is a dream and although there were some periods of wet weather on the way, we arrived at the house around 4pm on Sunday.  We had been quite worried at what might be found on re-entering a house after it had been shut-up for two years, so armed to the teeth with Dyson at the ready (reminiscent of Ghost Busters) we found we had only spiders to evict and cobwebs to suck-up.  Of course, everywhere needed a good cleaning and there were some mouldy patches on the sofas, but overall this was a big relief.  It was clear that our biggest challenge was going to be the garden.

On the run-up to the trip, Alison and I had suffered with the mega-cold that has been going around and we were both now struggling with chest infections and feeling dreadful.  For the first week of the stay, we were severely limited in our capacity for physical work, but things gradually improved.

Not long before when we were last at the house, we were issued with lovely brand new wheelie bins for general waste and recycling which we had safely stored in the garage. The previous system had been to leave such waste in black and yellow bags, by the gate, where they miraculously dissappeared overnight if they had not been attacked by wild animals.

The bins were an improvement on this system but we quickly discovered they had been made redundant as there were no more roadside collections. Instead, we need to take our waste to one of a large number of roadside disposal points, but to access the general waste unit, we needed to be issued with a smartcard which had to be applied for online.

All the trimming and pruning in the garden produces mountains of garden waste, which we needed to take to the decheterie (the recycling centre). Based on our previous experience, we filled up the trailer and took it along. When we presented our authorisation card, we were told that the system had changed and we needed to use the same smartcard for which we had completed the online application!!!

We were allowed to empty the trailer and needed to repeat this several times over the next few days. The prompt arrival of our smartcard did make things easier. It works on a contactless pad on the barrier, but we did find it disconcerting when we were greeted with “Bonjour M. et Mme. King” as it allowed us in.

Our motorhome buddies Jeeves and Michelle also have a house in Montpon and they followed us out to France early the first week of our stay. Unlike our modern new-build bungalow, their house is around 200 years old and full of character. But with that character comes the potential for many problems. Jeeves has owned the house for about 30 years and has worked hard to make the place into a welcoming place to be. He was worried about a roof-leak he identified just before leaving the house 20 months ago, but in the event, the last-minute bucket placed under it proved effective. You can read more about Jeeves and Michelle’s experiences in their blog “Taraabit”; the link is on the “Links and Blogs” page of this website.

The past month has not all been work; we have had a few days out, enjoying the French countryside and their Vide-greniers or Brocantes which are like our car-boot sales.  This is something which Jeeves and Michelle enjoy in particular.  There is a something unique about the type of things being sold at these events.  Lots of rusty and woodworm riddled farming implements.  Every home should have some!

Sainte Foy le Grande

There is a Saturday market in this town which sits on the south bank of the River Dordogne, around 25 minutes’ drive away from Montpon.  The produce on the stalls is amazing in both its variety and quality.  All is fresh and presented well, if expensive.  Some of the cheese is on offer at eye-watering prices.  I think this maybe reflects how long it is matured for (probably years?).  The French diet is, I think, a little more adventurous than ours and there are many things I would have to be paid (well) to eat.

There are also many old and interesting buildings:

Farganaud

This is a favourite walk of ours.  The route takes us through beautiful woodland alongside a man-made lake and through more old, coppiced woodland beyond, then returning around the far side of the lake.

It is the time of year for fungi and the French go on hunting expeditions for what they consider to be gourmet ingredients.  Unfortunately, not knowing what is safe to eat or what might kill us, we did not do anything more than take photographs.

St Emilion

The medieval village of St Emilion is stunning.  Built on a steep hill, commanding the surrounding area, it is famous for wines and its architecture.  We have visited here many times as it is only 30 minutes or so from Montpon and there seems to always be something new to see.

The central church is almost entirely underground, with just the spire above.  This means there is a terrace at the base of the spire, from which you can look down at the square and the restaurants below.

St Laurant des Hommes

Another favourite walk is along the disused canal which was built to allow river traffic to use the River Isle, bypassing several weirs.

Further along this stretch of the River Isle at Le Moulin de Duellas, is an old water-powered saw-mill, which is in a preserved state, but I think not operational.

The British Normandy Memorial

We decided to visit the new British Normandy Memorial on our way home at Ver-sur-Mer.  It is within sight of the Channel and around 15Km from Gold Beach, the main landing point for British troops on D-Day, 6^th June 1944.

Although we managed to see the memorial, we had been delayed by traffic around Caen and soon after we arrived, there was a very heavy rainstorm, which drove us off in the gathering gloom at the end of the day.  The up side to this was that we, at least briefly, had the site to ourselves.

It is a most fitting memorial to the fallen; over 17,000 of them.  It is difficult to put it into words, but we found it very moving with all the names carved into the stone of the pillars.  A couple of years ago we visited the first world war cemeteries in Flanders, which was if anything, more moving, as you were actually seeing the grave headstones, very many of which were dedicated to unknown soldiers.

Home

The journey onwards was tiring.  The ferry was late leaving and the crossing quite rough which led to a late arrival in Portsmouth in fine weather. 

A long wait in the port to clear passport control and customs followed.  We then had a difficult drive home with deteriorating weather conditions and heavy traffic.  A huge contrast to our experiences driving in France where the roads are often nearly empty.  Hopefully we can return in April (or sooner) in 2022, but in the meantime we should be able to take Fufu out for more adventures.